Mindset: Imagine that you work for Politico or the Washington Post and you’re in charge of covering Congress… Here’s the catch, all of your political coverage needs to tie into Congress fighting global poverty.
You are covering politics as it relates to global poverty. What Congress is doing regarding global poverty, hunger, aid, development, foreign assistance, etc.
Examples of Political Coverage
- McCain Praises Biden for Support of Foreign Aid
- Facts about Food Aid Reform
- Congressmen Work Together in Support of Water for the World Act
- 5 Bills to Fight Global Poverty
Key Terms to Follow
Look for political news related to these topics (i.e. “Congress increases USAID funding”).
- International Affairs Budget
- USAID
- Foreign Aid
- Foreign Assistance
- Millennium Challenge Account
- Food Aid Reform
- Modernizing Foreign Assistance
- Feed the Future
- PEPFAR
- U.S. State Department
- USAID
Set up Google Alerts
Search “Google Alerts” then fill in the box it provides with any of the above terms or global poverty related phrases. Google will provide you with a smattering of trending articles and blogs that contain those words. Click “sign up for alert” and Google will send you a daily report of a specific word or phrase. Set up a bunch!
What to Monitor
Track these closely for news related to global poverty and development.
- News out of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
- News out of the House Foreign Affairs Committee
- House Foreign Affairs Committee Hearings
- Senate Foreign Relations Hearings
- House Appropriations Committee
- State Foreign Ops Sub Committee (House)
- Senate Appropriations Committee
- Senate Foreign Ops Sub Committee (Senate)
Helpful Links
Politico
Washington Post
Global Affairs Blog
The Hill
The Huffington Post
Foreign Policy Magazine
USGLC
CNN
Politics of Poverty
Congress.gov
Govtrack.us
ONE
WFP
Recommended E-Alerts
Mike Allen’s Playbook (followed by most of DC)
UN Wire
What we want more of…
- “5 more leaders cosponsor the Electrify Africa Act” – Visit the legislation section of borgenproject.org and click the links to view cosponsors next to each bill.
- “How Rep. X is changing the world” – In-depth articles on members of Congress who are positively impacting the world’s poor. Look up key bills to see which leaders tend to be engaged in global poverty.